Vietnamese holiday maker gives ‘ridiculous excuse’ after being caught red handed at a Boronia crop house
A Vietnamese holiday maker tried to play dumb by telling police he thought the bag of marijuana he was carrying from a Boronia crop house was just “herbs”. The excuse didn’t fly with a County Court judge, who sent him straight to prison.
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A Vietnamese grandfather holidaying in Australia told a court he thought a bag of marijuana was just “herbs” after he was busted by police at a suburban crop house.
Hien Ngo, 61, was arrested after he was caught red handed with a large plastic bag filled with marijuana collected from a crop house at 27 Tulip Cres, Boronia, on November 1 last year.
The County Court heard last month he’d arrived in the country on a tourist visa just a couple of weeks prior to committing the offence.
A search of the house later and a search of the house revealed 75 plants weighing more than 83kg.
County Court judge Michael Tinney said he didn’t believe for a moment Ngo’s excuse that he thought the weed he was carrying was just herbs, and that it was “startling” he would commit an offence so soon after arriving in the country.
He also said it was unlikely Ngo would be allowed to return to Australia to visit his daughter, who lives here with his grandchildren, as a result of his offence.
“You described being asked by a man in Springvale to attend the address … and collect a bag of herbs,” he said.
“You said you didn’t know it was cannabis … plainly it was nonsense.”
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“It is pretty startling that you would commit a crime such as the cultivation within a couple of weeks of arriving into this country on a tourist visa.
“There seems to be a never-ending stream of people such as you prepared to involve themselves in cultivation of narcotic plants for reward.”
Ngo pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis and was sentenced to 21 months’ jail with a non-parole period of 11 months.
He will be deported to Vietnam at the end of his sentence.